The Game of Thrones' Stark Reality

The Game of Thrones' Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Richard Madden as Robb Stark

Photograph by: Handouts
, HBO Canada

BELFAST, Ireland — The Game of Thrones is not one of beauty. Dead and half-dying men lie strewn across the muddy, blood-soaked war camp, their missing limbs and scarred bodies a harsh reminder of the ravages of war. Grim-faced, bearded warriors sit eating around campfires in full gear, the light dancing off their dented armour and shields. Soot-covered tents and supply wagons encircle the men, and the colourful banners of multiple noble houses stand like proud sentinels in the twilight.

Foremost among the banners is the imposing grey Direwolf of House Stark. The symbol unites these men behind their new, young king — that and the thirst for vengeance for the execution of Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark.

The medieval vision is marred once you notice that the soldiers’ food is in Styrofoam containers. And it is abruptly shattered when their king saunters across the camp in a billowing, fur cloak — a plastic bottle of water in one hand and a cigarette dangling from his lips.

The “king” in question is Richard Madden, who plays Robb Stark in TV’s Game of Thrones. The mangled bodies? Only mannequins. The armed camp? Only a set located at the edge of a misty loch in rural Ireland.

Relaxing in between takes, Madden said Robb's character is much more “confident” and mature in Season 2, which bows on April 1. He has been thrust, grudgingly, into the role of King of the North. That crushing responsibility, coupled with the death of his father, has transformed Robb from a boy to a man — practically overnight.

“Robb's one of the men. He's one of these soldiers, and he's in it together with everyone. He's on the front lines. . . . He's proven himself,” Madden said during filming on set. “Robb's priorities are not only now to his sisters, to his brothers, to Winterfell, but very much so to a whole army that he's leading.”

With the unexpected beheading of Ned Stark, the show lost its biggest star in actor Sean Bean. Madden will be one of the defining faces of the new season, based on A Clash of Kings, the second book in the series by George R.R. Martin. With chiselled features marked by steel-blue eyes, rugged stubble and short, dark curls, the 25-year-old is naturally compelling on camera.

Given Robb has almost no presence in Book 2, Madden said he was initially concerned he’d be sitting around idle this year. But the TV series’ creators opted to take their own path and create plenty of screen time for Robb.

Madden and Kit Harington, who plays Ned's bastard son, Jon Snow, have become understandably popular with Game's female fans, and Madden promises we'll see more than a little romance in Season 2. Both brothers are expected to meet their match, so to speak. Given the show's penchant for graphic sex scenes, the Stark boys may have to mix a little foreplay with their swordplay.

“I'm sure there are a couple of scenes,” Harington said slyly during an interview.

“This book is about a very real world, and I think they wanted to make (the series) dirty and gritty and visceral,” he added. “That's why there (are) such graphic sex scenes and graphic violence. You wouldn't be doing the books justice if you didn't go there. . . . I think it’s pushing boundaries, and that's what HBO does. And it doesn't get any prettier or lighter as it goes on.”

While the brothers will be in the thick of the action, they’ll be worlds apart. In fact, the ill-fated Stark clan will be largely divided this season. Robb will be engaged in the War of the Five Kings. With the sadistic child-king Joffrey on the Iron Throne, Robb and three other would-be kings battle for either the high seat itself, or regional autonomy. New characters in this power struggle will include Stephen Dillane and Gethin Anthony, as quarrelling brothers and would-be rulers Stannis and Renly Baratheon, and Liam Cunningham as former smuggler, Davos Seaworth.

Meanwhile, Jon Snow's storyline will take the series into the heart of the frigid, mysterious wilderness beyond the series' monstrous wall — a barrier that protects the civilized world from the barbaric Wildlings, as well as the supernatural beings known as the White Walkers.

Harington said he loves that his long-suffering character — marked by his bastard heritage — is at the centre of the series’ biggest mystery.

“I love the way this (season) is three-tiered,” Harington said. “It's kind of wonderful to be one of (those world’s) central figures. It kind of feels like you own that bit, that it's yours.”

Game’s new season is largely divided into three fronts: Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen continues her brutal journey in exile, along with her newly hatched dragons; the five kings will battle it out on the mainland, with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) clashing for influence over Joffrey; and Snow will explore the unknown north.

“I loved my part of the story. I loved it when I was reading the books,” Harington said. “This constant threat on your doorstep, it's like the monster you can't see. . . . That's what the White Walkers are.”

A sworn, celibate member of the Night's Watch (the protectors of the wall), Harington’s character may also find himself literally sleeping with the enemy. Rose Leslie has been cast as Ygritte, a Wildling woman Snow gets entangled with in the course of his trials.

The new season also promises at least one encounter with the White Walkers — which fans have not seen since the series’ premiere — but “the threat of them is always there,” Harington said.

The memory of Ned Stark will loom large for his family this season. Madden said Rob is driven to honour his father's memory and emanate his finest qualities: loyalty and honour. (But in the cruel world of Westeros, those same qualities are what got Ned killed.) In Harington’s eyes, Jon continues to feel as if he has something to prove to his late father.

“He wants to be his father in a lot of ways,” Harrington said. “He look(ed) up to him so much and he doesn't have a mother, so he (had) no other parental figure. . . . He (wanted) to prove to his father that he (was) just as important as his (half-siblings).”

During the interview, Harrington’s long, dark curly hair fell over a matching jet-black breastplate, tunic and cloak. He would soon need the latter. At the time, the 25-year-old was preparing to leave for the series' shoot in Iceland, which doubles as “beyond the wall” on the show.

“It is this stunning place,” he said. “When I heard they were going to shoot (there), I just thought, ‘That's perfect. It's going to be alien.’”

While heads regularly roll in the series, Harington feels fairly secure his character will live — at least for the foreseeable future.

“When I first went out for this (part), it was quite apparent that there was something about this character that was key to the story, and I like to think that I kind of fell in love with him a bit when reading that first episode.

“He has so much . . . conflict inside of him,” Harrington said. “He is an outcast — even (within) the family. Because of that, he instinctively decides he wants to help other people whom he sees as outcasts.”

Martin may have created Jon, but Harrington is comfortable in his shoes.

“He is beloved by fans, and that is a pressure . . . but all you can do is offer your own interpretation and hope people like it — you won't please everybody,” the actor said. “You know what's weird? It's weird when people come up to you and say, 'Now, when I read the books, you're the person in my head.’ That's kind of bizarre for me — that all of us as actors have now affected the look of a book's character in someone's head.”

Meanwhile, Michelle Fairley’s widow, Catelyn Stark, will be forced to put aside her pain and serve her son Robb’s cause. At one point, she will be dispatched as an emissary to broker an important alliance.

“It’s about human nature, it’s about what people want today,” Fairley told heyuguys.co.uk about the show’s appeal. “It’s about greed, power, revenge, and about caring for people you love, and people can associate with that. It’s epic. It could be Greek, it could be Sophocles or Shakespeare.”

The three youngest Stark children will also face peril this year, with Sansa (Sophie Turner) betrothed to the sadistic King Joffrey, and the crippled Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) struggling to serve as acting lord at the family castle, Winterfell. The Stark’s youngest daughter, Arya — as played by Maisie Williams — is out on her own, and on the run.

“It was a bit of a shock when I came to the second season and didn't come to work with fellow Starks,” she said in an interview, noting she shared many close scenes with Sean Bean in Season 1.

Williams' hair is cut short for the role, and she's dressed as a boy — all part of a ploy to keep Arya’s identity hidden. As for how the actress copes with the series’ violent shoots, the 14-year-old says matter-of-factly, “It's just pretend, at the end of the day.”

Try telling that to the millions of fans of both the show, and the books, around the world. The Game of Thrones is beginning anew. Only time will tell who is a pawn, who is a simple knight, and who is fit to be a king or queen.

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